As their Six Nations hopes were washed away for another year England clung for dear life to the one positive.
A show of defiance, heroic in the circumstances, had saved them from a hiding in front of their own fans.
It allowed the world’s richest and best-resourced rugby nation to talk of pride and character rather than an unprecedented fifth loss in six championship games against Home Union opposition.
It deflected the focus from a biggest home defeat for seven years and a record loss to Ireland at Twickenham.
It avoided immediate scrutiny of a four-tries-to-nil beating which means in two games inside their ‘fortress’ they have conceded seven and scored one.
“We’ve taken massive steps forward in this championship,” claimed Eddie Jones, who heads to France tomorrow staring down the barrel of a fourth or even fifth place finish.
Playing almost 80 minutes a man down against opponents who recently beat the All Blacks, and being level with 14 minutes to go, is cause for optimism.
Likewise winning six scrum penalties with red carded lock Charlie Ewels in an early bath and wing Jack Nowell filling in at the set-piece.
That undoubtedly tells a tale of character, as does the way England coped with the first half losses of Tom Curry, to a hamstring injury, and Kyle Sinckler, to concussion.
“One of my proudest days in an England shirt,” said the outstanding Jamie George, months after Jones questioned his will to commit fully to a third World Cup campaign.
“It hurt me when Eddie said he doesn’t know, for me personally, whether I’ve got the fire in the belly. My main ambition is for him to never question that ever again.”
George’s full-blooded response was matched by Ellis Genge, playing the game of his life, and Maro Itoje, who got off his sick bed to exert enormous influence.
“I would like to think people would look at this team and think if they’re capable of that amount of fight then in 18 months they’ll be in pretty good stead leading into a World Cup campaign,” George added.
Time will tell on that as it will on Ben Youngs' claim that Saturday's refusal to roll over set a standard which will “define” England going forward.
For all the courage in the face of numerical adversity, England’s attacking game has shrivelled in this campaign.
They saw next to nothing of Ireland’s 22 a fortnight after not managing a scoring pass against Wales.
Jones’ take is that “sometimes circumstances mean results don’t mimic the performance. The results will catch up”.
It will happen in Paris, he insists, though with Curry, Ewels, Underhill and probably Sinckler absent that smacks of wishful thinking.
"We owe it to ourselves to go there and put in a performance which really ruffles some feathers," George said.
"We have to win, I really do think that."
ENGLAND - Pens: Smith 5.
IRELAND - Tries: Lowe, Keenan, Conan, Bealham. Cons: Sexton 3. Pens: Sexton 2.
